The Nissan Titan XD is unique in the pickup truck segments because it fits between the standard half-ton and larger three-quarter ton trucks. It's a heavy-duty half-ton truck with more towing and power than most standard half-ton pickups, but less capability and a lower price than its medium-duty peers.

The 2018 Nissan Titan XD comes in a variety of cab configurations with multiple bed lengths, and varied trim packages to meet the needs of commercial and consumer buyers. Both gasoline and diesel engine options are available. It seats up to six, depending on the configuration, with towing capacities ranging up to well over 12,000 pounds. Both rear-wheel and four-wheel drive are available.

Although it's a solid truck with the best warranty in the segment, the 2018 Titan XD has its quirks. New pickup designs entering the market are equal or nearly equal to the Titan XD's capabilities, perhaps making the XD outdated.

What We Love About the 2018 Nissan Titan XD:

Big, powerful exterior design lets everyone know it's a Titan

Smooth highway ride despite its over-the-top capability

Strong capability with plenty of available gadgets to make operation even easier

What We Don't Love About the 2018 Nissan Titan XD:

Interior not as robust or ergonomic for work compared to other brands

Competitors are becoming just as capable at a lower cost

Fuel economy can be iffy and has no base metric

Exterior View (10/10)

The 2018 Nissan Titan XD is huge in almost every way it can be. A wide, tall grille and huge multi-level headlamps dominate the upper front fascia, while a huge shiny bumper rides below that. The fenders have a decidedly muscular shoulder, and the hood remains flat and wide in keeping with all of that.

The 2018 Titan XD's exterior holds the front end's design values without wavering, with a high ground and wheel-well clearance, heavily draped bodywork and massive rear bumper - all with a larger than life appearance.

Hints at the former Titan's less titanic proportions are seen in the windscreen and roofline. Large badges on the front fenders behind the wheel well, denote whether the Titan XD is the V8 Endurance model with its large gasoline engine or the Cummins-powered diesel option.

Nissan wanted it to be clear that the Titan XD is not just a pickup truck, but a heavy-duty half-ton pickup truck with more capability than your average Joe. They definitely accomplished that through the Titan XD's exterior design.

Interior Comfort, Quality, Ergonomics (8/10)

The 2018 Nissan Titan XD has a well-done interior. There are some things missing we'd like to see that are found in competitive pickups, but the Titan hits the bases on most things.

The 2018 Titan XD is big, comfortable and roomy inside. In both the single cab and huge four-door crew option, there's a lot of space to spread out in this big truck.

Materials quality is very good, but much of it is more car-like than truck-like in terms of how ready it feels for getting real work done. That might be a small thing in some people's eyes, but truck owners usually expect some robust nature to the materials design in their pickups.

What we really like is the smart way that ergonomic items like drink holders, coin/phone trays and other small-item storage is handled in the big XD. There's a lot of storage room for knickknacks throughout.

Where the Titan XD fails is in placement of other items. For example, the huge shift lever blocks the defrost buttons on the dash. Buttons and knobs, especially for climate and stereo controls, are smaller and less tactile than we like in a pickup truck. That makes it difficult to operate them with cold or gloved hands - both common for working truck owners.

As with most pickups, the Titan has a huge array of options from the dealership and aftermarket outfitters. Nissan offers in-bed storage, sidewall boxes, tie-down rails and more as options. Accessibility options such as side steps are also available.

Technology (7/10)

The 2018 Nissan Titan XD's technology is based on a 7-inch or larger touchscreen. This screen is prone to glare due to its positioning on the large dash mainly because of reflections from trim elements in the truck. The Titan XD's infotainment is good, with lots of basic connectivity at its base level, and app integration and more going up the ladder to the better versions.

The Nissan system itself is a bit clunky to use compared to more modern offerings from other makes. In addition, buttons and menu options are smaller than we like to see in a vehicle this large, making them sometimes hard to read. We like the apps available and how well the system usually integrates to smartphone data and streaming options. Bluetooth is almost flawless in the Titan XD.

Also nice to see are trailering systems for the Titan XD that include the option for a wireless light check using the truck's key fob to test the trailer's lighting upon hookup. Very handy.

Fuel Economy (8/10)

Because the Titan XD is considered a heavy-duty vehicle per the EPA's rules, no fuel economy measures are required from Nissan. Our estimates are based on our own experience and we compare them to what other outlets driving similar configurations received with their 2018 Titan XD.

We saw about 17 mpg on average in the 2018 Nissan Titan XD's gasoline engine option with four-wheel drive. This average dropped to about 10 mpg when towing a moderately weighted trailer at about half the truck's towing capability.

The diesel option for the Titan XD, also in 4WD, averaged almost 16 mpg overall with our driving. Towing had far less impact on this version's fuel economy, which dropped to about 12.5 mpg to 13 mpg when trailering at over half its rated capacity.

Predicted Reliability, Initial Quality Ratings (8/10)

We don't have published reliability ratings for the 2018 model year Titan XD at the time of writing. But since this year is mechanically unchanged from 2017, we can use those numbers.

In last year's J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study, the Titan XD was rated "About Average" for overall reliability. Add in Nissan's best-in-class bumper-to-bumper and overall warranty for the Titan XD and our rating is an 8.

Safety (9/10)

The 2018 Titan XD has several safety systems on board. At the time of writing, published crash test results for the truck are not available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Results from 2017 are likely to carry over into 2018, as little changed in either the tests or the truck.

The NHTSA rated the Titan XD with an overall rating of four out of five stars. It received four stars each for frontal crash and rollover results, and five stars for side crash results.

The IIHS rated the Titan XD with best scores of "Good" on most of its testing, but with a second-worse "Marginal" on the small overlap front test. That's typical of many full-sized pickups.

Performance (10/10)

The 2018 Nissan Titan XD has two engine options: a gasoline V8 and diesel V8. Each is mated to an automatic transmission and available in either rear-wheel or four-wheel drive.

The V8 Endurance model of the 2018 Titan XD uses a 5.6-liter V8 engine found in several of Nissan's large trucks and SUVs, including the standard Titan and the Armada. Engine output is 390 hp and 401 lb-ft of torque, and those come in a relatively wide RPM band thanks to new engine tuning and transmission programming for the seven-speed automatic. Towing in the V8 Endurance models is rated at up to 11,270 pounds, depending on configuration. Cargo hauling is rated at up to 2,594 pounds.

The 2018 Titan XD with the diesel option uses a huge Cummins V8 diesel engine that displaces five liters and outputs 310 hp and 555 lb-ft of torque. This runs through a six-speed automatic transmission with towing rated at up to 12,314 pounds and cargo hauling at up to 2,091 pounds.

Both engines are excellent for getting the job done, if the job is within the Titan XD's broad parameters. The gasoline model has more get-up and highway go than the diesel, but under load the diesel's huge amount of torque definitely shines. The gasoline-powered Titan XD will pull a load well, but will take some time to get going compared to when the truck is empty. The diesel model drives about the same whether a large load is present or not.

On the road, especially an open highway, the 2018 Nissan Titan XD handles itself well and absorbs the road nicely. It's not a luxury auto and still drives like a massive truck, but the Titan XD has good ride quality and interior sound dampening for the class.

Pricing and Value (7/10)

The 2018 Nissan Titan XD is difficult to measure in terms of value, given that it has no direct competition. Most buyers are likely to be considering three-quarter ton trucks as an option against the Titan XD and might think its lower pricing is a solid reason for choosing this truck. It's excellent warranty and well-done styling will also be a draw. As will that huge Cummins engine.

Yet there are comparable half-ton pickups very close to the Titan XD's capability in towing and hauling. And some are superior. The Titan XD is expensive compared to those models.

Total Score and Competitive Comparison (67/80, 84%)

Direct competition for the 2018 Nissan Titan XD is tough to find, but some options are available.

The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel model is nothing like the Titan XD diesel model, but the new Ram 1500 for 2019 is comparable without a diesel engine. As are certain tow-max configurations of the Ford F-150, which has a diesel option coming. Some three-quarter ton trucks are also comparable in terms of price in their lower-end configurations.

The question is whether the prospective Titan XD owner needs what the XD offers or would be better off with something else. For many, the Nissan offers exactly what's needed and is a solid buy.

Putting brand loyalties aside (which are rampant in pickups), the Titan XD definitely fits a certain buyer who needs to pull gooseneck trailers of livestock, cargo, etc. and don't require the heavy cargo capability or large suspension systems of a more heavy-duty three-quarter ton pickup. Nissan is betting that there are a lot of those buyers out there.

Interested to see how the 2018 Nissan Titan XD ranks against similar cars in terms of key attributes? Here are the 2018 Nissan Titan XD rankings for MPG, horsepower, torque, leg room, head room, shoulder room, hip room and so forth.